About to apply sulfur to chlorotic azalea, but one poster advised I
test the soil first. Here's what I got from my local nursery.

[t]wo options to test your soils pH. They have
a pH meter which includes a reader and a stick that's very easy to use
for $24.99. They also have a kit that'll check the pH, nitrogen
levels
and several other elements. The kit includes tablets which you put in
the ground. Then you water the area and check for the various
elements.
The kit is $19.99. Please let me know if you have additional
questions.



Thank you,
Never having tested my soil before (gawd, after all these years!)
I would value opinion on which is more accurate and less trouble to
use.

The price difference is not great; results count.

TIA

(also, if anybody has source for cheaper price -- including S&H --
would be glad to hear of it)

Persephone

They have a pH meter which includes a reader and a stick that's very
easy to use for $24.99. They also have a kit that'll check the pH,
nitrogen levels and several other elements.

We got a soil pH meter, a Kelway HB-2. This is a cone-shaped device
(no electronics or batteries, has an analog guage) which you clean
with a conditioning film and put into the soil. The needle is
supposed to deflect and then slowly approach the real pH. The soil
needs to be quite wet (we've not gotten a reading, at least this
summer, without adding water, which I guess is OK if we use rain water
rather than tap water).

So I guess this is working but I find it a bit hard to be confident
that I'm using it right and can believe the results. If other people
are using other soil test kits, I'd be interested in hearing about it.
I like the idea of working from knowledge rather than guesswork. But
I'm not sure what method is best. I'm assuming that the soil is
different in each of the beds (given previous owners amending the
soil, growing different plants, throwing potted plants in the beds,
etc, etc), which makes me a little uncertain whether "just send in the
soil for a soil test" is the right answer.

On 26 Jul 2007 15:57:53 -0400, Jim Kingdon wrote:

They have a pH meter which includes a reader and a stick that's very
easy to use for $24.99. They also have a kit that'll check the pH,
nitrogen levels and several other elements.

We got a soil pH meter, a Kelway HB-2. This is a cone-shaped device
(no electronics or batteries, has an analog guage) which you clean
with a conditioning film and put into the soil. The needle is
supposed to deflect and then slowly approach the real pH. The soil
needs to be quite wet (we've not gotten a reading, at least this
summer, without adding water, which I guess is OK if we use rain water
rather than tap water).

Oh, how I wish I had rain water. Any amount. Yearn, yearn...

Forgot to mention that the info about testing kits from nursery
requires that one use purified water. Sounds logical, not to get
confused by extraneous minerals, but just another nuisance on this
small-scale test, to acquire that kind of water.

So I guess this is working but I find it a bit hard to be confident
that I'm using it right and can believe the results. If other people
are using other soil test kits, I'd be interested in hearing about it.
I like the idea of working from knowledge rather than guesswork.

ME TOO!

But I'm not sure what method is best. I'm assuming that the soil is
different in each of the beds (given previous owners amending the
soil, growing different plants, throwing potted plants in the beds,
etc, etc), which makes me a little uncertain whether "just send in the
soil for a soil test" is the right answer.

Good point. Some of the university or county sites require one to
first send for a bag to gather the soil, then return the bag, then
somehow get the results. That's probably do-able for a large-scale
assessment, but all I want is info on ONE 17-18" pot of azaleas!

Persephone

I use good ol' pH paper.
http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/org/...515131447.html
pHydrion is a reliable brand, and should run about $6-10 for a 15 ft
roll, which is good for a couple hundred tests.
Nasco is (ime) a reliable source for this sort of thing:
http://www.enasco.com/Buscar.do?q=pHydrion&x=0&y=0

You can also use the pH indicator on a swimming pool test strip.

Kay

In article , Persephone
wrote:

On 26 Jul 2007 15:57:53 -0400, Jim Kingdon wrote:

They have a pH meter which includes a reader and a stick that's very
easy to use for $24.99. They also have a kit that'll check the pH,
nitrogen levels and several other elements.

We got a soil pH meter, a Kelway HB-2. This is a cone-shaped device
(no electronics or batteries, has an analog guage) which you clean
with a conditioning film and put into the soil. The needle is
supposed to deflect and then slowly approach the real pH. The soil
needs to be quite wet (we've not gotten a reading, at least this
summer, without adding water, which I guess is OK if we use rain water
rather than tap water).

Oh, how I wish I had rain water. Any amount. Yearn, yearn...

Forgot to mention that the info about testing kits from nursery
requires that one use purified water. Sounds logical, not to get
confused by extraneous minerals, but just another nuisance on this
small-scale test, to acquire that kind of water.

So I guess this is working but I find it a bit hard to be confident
that I'm using it right and can believe the results. If other people
are using other soil test kits, I'd be interested in hearing about it.
I like the idea of working from knowledge rather than guesswork.

ME TOO!

But I'm not sure what method is best. I'm assuming that the soil is
different in each of the beds (given previous owners amending the
soil, growing different plants, throwing potted plants in the beds,
etc, etc), which makes me a little uncertain whether "just send in the
soil for a soil test" is the right answer.

Good point. Some of the university or county sites require one to
first send for a bag to gather the soil, then return the bag, then
somehow get the results. That's probably do-able for a large-scale
assessment, but all I want is info on ONE 17-18" pot of azaleas!

Persephone

Write to the company that makes the potting soil and ask them what the
pH is of there soil. Then do the math to adjust the pH. Oh, that's
right, I'm in your kill file and you can't read me. Maybe AIPAC can help
you. You give them enough money. 4 billion annually from the good ol' US
of A.
--
Billy
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/

Oh, how I wish I had rain water. Any amount. Yearn, yearn...

:-). In Washington, DC we are in the frustrating part of the year
where it is very hot, fairly dry, and where the weather forecast calls
for "chance of thundershowers" almost every day (but you don't know
whether you'll get any).

Forgot to mention that the info about testing kits from nursery
requires that one use purified water. Sounds logical, not to get
confused by extraneous minerals, but just another nuisance on this
small-scale test, to acquire that kind of water.

That's another variable. I'm assuming rain water is good enough given
that's what the plants are going to mostly get (we don't irrigate our
garden heavily), but I'm far from an expert on these things.